SCHOOL fees often aren't easy to pay, especially when the bank uses a student's savings to pay off someone else's debt.
A Redditor has shared one frustrating experience after a bank left them cashless.
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"I was notified that my account was closed and all my money was gone," they said while not specifying the bank's name.
OFFSET BALANCE
This was done to offset money owed by another family member.
The right to offset is when a bank can take a member's deposit account savings for separate owed debt payments, like a car loan.
The student, who said their bank was a small, local company, had to pick up the slack on their parent's late payments without a choice.
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They realized after checking their mobile banking app to see if their direct deposit kicked in.
Their student checking account wasn't just frozen but also wiped like an empty piggy bank.
Concerned, they called to inquire about hundreds of dollars missing from the account.
The bank's manager explained it was used to offset debt their mom hadn't yet paid off.
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"I haven't had contact with my mother in months, and I know she often writes bad checks and goes into debt, but normally her monthly social security check covers all the debt she creates, so I hadn't been too concerned on it," the Redditor wrote.
Unfortunately, the bank member didn't have much say in the matter since they're not yet a legal adult.
"She is on my account because it's a student checking account, (I'm 17 and can't make my own yet) but I was not on her checking account in which she owed debt," they said.
"I don't know how much she owed I just know that the entirety of my account is wiped. Is there anything I could do in this situation to get it back?"
BANK BUST
Users replied to the struggling student with financial suggestions, plus advice for some familial boundaries.
"As soon as you turn 18, you need to open your own bank account and make sure you are removed from any bank accounts or credit cards that your mom is on. Super super important," one person said.
"To add on to this, it needs to be at a different bank — don’t do business with the same bank as your parents," another user replied.
"I bet your mom got a letter notifying her that they would be taking the money out and she didn’t let you know," one person suggested.
"They don’t do this randomly. Sorry this happened."
"It really sucks but like the others said, if she is joint on the account the bank has the right to offset," someone added.
They asked the Redditor if there's another parent or guardian they could open a joint account with until their 18th birthday arrives.
"I’d try to open a new account and get your direct deposit going somewhere else as soon as possible."
This hasn't just been an issue with local banking businesses.
One Chase member had a similar experience when they tried to deposit a check they received from their uncle.
After three different calls with Chase, management finally notified them their account would be closed in just four days.
"Despite my pleas, the representative provided no steps for verification and claimed there was nothing they could do," they said.
Plus a Citibank member couldn't access more than $1,500 when she tried to pay her mortgage off.
It was all because of a dispute with the bank and her loan company, even though the woman didn't do anything wrong.
The funds eventually got recovered, but the woman was still shaken up from the confusion.
"Some of us can't afford to just give away more than $1,500!" she said.
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Another ex Chase customer revealed their exact solution for getting money back.
And this Redditor fears for all their mom's savings after her checking account closed from old credit card debt.
